Should I secure my website with HTTPS - part 3

Categories:News

Perhaps you are already convinced of the benefits of an SSL certificate after reading Part 1 (safety, reliability and SEO) and Part 2 (the fight of Google and Firefox against unsafe websites), but we would like to give you another reason to secure your website. Yes, there is another reason to switch to HTTPS. It is not directly related to safety, but to measurability.

For many modern companies, especially in the recruitment industry, the website is an important tool. A tool for recruiting candidates and clients, branding, telling your story, engaging customers, as a platform for your marketing campaigns, etc. How crucial is it then, that you can see where all that traffic comes from? Did that LinkedIn or Facebook campaign work? Are we doing well in Google? Do we get a lot of visitors from our partners? Does sending all these mailings still make sense? All these questions cannot be answered if you cannot measure (properly).

Direct traffic

Many of us use Google Analytics as a tool to gain insight into the visitors and behaviour on our website. In the analysis of traffic sources you often encounter the category 'Direct traffic'. A somewhat vague description for an even more vague mix of traffic. This includes all people who have directly typed your URL into their browser or used a bookmark, but also all the traffic for which Analytics cannot find the source and therefore knows nothing about. The larger this group is, the larger the blind spot on your website.

HTTPS -> HTTP = 'Direct traffic'

If you do not yet have an SSL certificate and your website is not yet running under HTTPS, this blind spot will become increasingly larger. That is because determination of the traffic source is done by adding a 'Referrer URL’ to a web address, similar to the sender address on a mail item, so that you know where it came from. However, if you have an unsafe website (HTTP) and the traffic comes from a secure website (HTTPS) then this information is not provided. This traffic then, always comes in as 'Direct traffic', so you have no insight into its origin.

For every marketer or website owner who understands the importance of reliable statistics, this is of course absolutely undesirable. So do something about this now!

Are you still not convinced of the benefits of a secure and easily measurable website, or are you looking for more arguments in favour of an SSL certificate? Then read Part 1 (safety, reliability and SEO) and Part 2 (the struggle of Google and Firefox against unsafe websites) of this article.